Is Glenn Beck Trivializing Rape In Comparing Government Run Health Care To Rapist Polanski?

Remember when the right wing got so upset about a comment made by Democratic Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, who referenced Nazis in the context of a comment about Guantanamo. They were very angry about the inappropriateness of using a Nazi metaphor in connection with American politics. Flash forward to 2009 and the right wing routinely compares Obama and health care reform to Hitler. Despite the ADL’s Abraham Foxman’s statement that this type of rhetoric is "outrageous, deeply offensive and inappropriate,” Glenn Beck, a voice for America’s radical right, persists in the Obama/health care reform as Nazi metaphor. Last night, on Beck’s “One True Thing” segment, he outdid himself in the "outrageous, deeply offensive and inappropriate” category when he compared government run health care to what Roman Polanski did to a 13 year old girl. In the use of a disgusting act of violence to describe a health care system, he insults our duly elected representatives who are working on health care reform, those who support it, and all who have been sexually assaulted. The question to Beck is “have you no shame, sir?”

H/T: TPM

Beck has described himself as a “rodeo clown.” So perhaps he was making a sick joke when he said: “The American public doesn't want government-run health care and, for the first time in history, we don't think it's the government's place to give it to us. We're the young girl saying "no" and government is Roman Polanski: In the end, we are all going to be cowering in France.” No Glenn, not even close. Only in Glenn Beck’s bizarro and hateful world are the attempts of a 13 year old girl to resist the forcible actions of her attacker comparable to resistance to “government run health care.” Only in Glenn Beck’s bizarro and hateful world is a government, which seeks or has “government run health care,” Roman Polanski - a man who raped a child. Not only is this insulting to victims of sexual assault (particularly children); but it is insulting to those countries whose national health care provides far better outcomes than those in the USA. But that’s another story. The issue here is that Glenn Beck, in addition to taking an act of violence to a child and comparing it to health care reform, casts the government in the role of rapist. Surely there were other metaphors that Beck could have used; but he didn’t. His hatred of Obama is so great that he actually used the brutal act against a child to describe attempts to secure a “public option” for those Americans who cannot afford health care. Under our present system, there are many victims of sexual violence whose hospital and counseling costs aren’t covered. Obviously, Beck doesn’t care about that in his attempt to further slime those Americans (57%) who support a public option. But to compare “government run health care” to rape? Beyond being strange, it’s insulting – but who cares about that when your hateful rhetoric garners all those great ratings. Ka-ching!!! Whatever the criteria is for “worst person in the world,” Beck certainly meets it. He owes an apology to all whose lives have been altered by the violence of sexual assault. Just when you think that he can’t get any more outrageous, offensive, and deeply inappropriate...